1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains generally to the field of fishing, trapping, and vermin destroying, and more particularly to animal traps that smite an animal using a fixed jaw and swinging striker activated by a trigger. Traps designed in accord with the teachings of the present invention find utility with a variety of animals, including rodents such as mice, rats, voles; and to other similar animals such as but not limited to shrews.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rodents and similar animals have long existed in the proximity of humans, often thriving on discarded garbage, scraps and crumbs. Unfortunately, these animals may also consume, devour or destroy foods; merchandise; building components such as walls, wiring and insulation; and other property that would otherwise be useful, beneficial and valuable to mankind. They will also soil buildings, and may contaminate food. Furthermore, these animals may become infected with diseases that are transmittable to humans and which have in some instances caused plagues and epidemics of enormous consequence.
While cats and other domesticated animals have been used to control populations of rodents and other wild animals, these domesticated animals will only rarely be able to completely eliminate such a population. Various chemicals are used to control pestilent wild animal populations, such as baits incorporating poisons or blood thinners. However, the use of chemicals poses a risk to children and pets, and can be dispersed by rodents into human foods. Furthermore, when the rodent dies, they may do so in an inaccessible nest and there may then be an associated stench as the carcass decays.
Instead, or in concert with other techniques, most people prefer to set up mechanical traps to control rodent and similar pest populations. The mechanical traps are preferably of low cost, may be reusable, preferably allow for easy removal of carcasses, and can provide simple monitoring of pest populations.
A few exemplary and relatively generic US patents, the teachings and contents which are incorporated herein by reference, include: U.S. Pat. No. 391,118 by Castle, entitled “Animal trap”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,102 by Marcolina, entitled “Disposable rodent trap”; Des 616,958 by Huang, entitled “Mouse trap”; and Des 676,098 by Huang, entitled “Mousetrap”. Wire traps, such as illustrated by Castle, can be quite difficult to set, and tend to be surprisingly unreliable at capturing rodents and the like. Furthermore, these types of traps are quite non-selective, and tend to capture clothing, children and domestic pets. Other drawbacks to common mechanical traps include difficulty setting the trap, a risk of bleeding or soiling that contaminates the trap and surroundings, difficulty removing a carcass from the trap, low capture rates, loss of bait from the trap, and sensitivity of the trap trigger to vibrations or movements.
A number of artisans have designed jaw traps with catches that at least in some cases improve selectivity of the trap, and that may also be easier to set and release. Some exemplary US patents, the teachings and contents which are incorporated herein by reference, include: U.S. Pat. No. 1,446,715 by Mertz et al, entitled “Animal trap”; U.S. Pat. No. 1,753,814 by Weller, entitled “Trap”; U.S. Pat. No. 1,919,527 by Orr, entitled “Trap”; U.S. Pat. No. 2,068,492 by Johnson, entitled “Animal trap”; U.S. Pat. No. 2,068,508 by Orr, entitled “Animal trap”; U.S. Pat. No. 2,321,617 by Peterson, entitled “Mousetrap”; U.S. Pat. No. 2,724,209 by Cain, entitled “Animal trap”; U.S. Pat. No. 2,778,149 by Edwards, entitled “Animal trap”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,644 by Vajs et al, entitled “Mouse and rat trap”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,799 by Vajs et al, entitled “Mouse and rat trap”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,512 by Krenzler, entitled “Mouse trap”; U.S. Pat. No. 6,508,031 by Johnson et al, entitled “Rodent trap with removable bait container”; U.S. Pat. No. 7,954,275 by Frisch, entitled “Rodent trap with removable trigger plate”; U.S. Pat. No. 8,490,322 by Dobias et al, entitled “Animal trap with collapsible arm”; Des 320,833 by Lumsden, entitled “Mouse trap”; Des 532,478 by Wiesener et al, entitled “Trap for rodents, in particular for mice and rats”; Des 671,186 by Dobias et al, entitled “Animal trap”; and Des 671,614 by Dobias et al, entitled “Animal trap”. These traps still suffer from the need to properly engage the catch, and in some cases from increased complexity and more unpredictable release due to the catch.
A particular subset of traps, and to which the present invention is most preferably applied, uses an over-center jaw trap which does not include any additional catch structure. These traps use a spring and pivot, with the spring moving from one side of the pivotal axis to centered with the axis, and finally to the other side of the axis. This causes the trap to be stable when the spring is on either side of the pivotal axis. A person can then manually swing the trap from open to closed or vice-versa. Exemplary US patents, the teachings and contents which are incorporated herein by reference, include: U.S. Pat. No. 2,138,092 by Evans, entitled “Animal trap”; U.S. Pat. No. 2,174,929 by Slutz, entitled “Animal trap”; U.S. Pat. No. 3,374,571 by Oakes, entitled “Trap”; U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,340 by Schildt, entitled “Animal trap”; U.S. Pat. No. 6,415,544 by Leyerle et al, entitled “Rodent trap with entrapping teeth”; Des 323,016 by Vajs, entitled “Combined mouse and rat trap”; and Des 441,828 by Leyerle et al, entitled “Rodent trap”. These traps tend to be much more safe around children and domestic pets. They also may be reusable, and can be designed to suffocate the rodent without breaking skin. Another particular advantage is the ability to release the carcass by simply squeezing the trap distal to the active jaw portion.
Unfortunately, one problem with these traps is the ability for rodents of different size from ideal escaping the jaws. Another problem is the sensitivity of the rodent to vibration when the trap starts to snap shut. The bait is placed adjacent to the base or fixed jaw, and so the rodent is somewhat crouched to eat. This is the most favorable position for the rodent, since the rodent can then quickly straighten his legs to jump out of the way of an incoming trap jaw.
Once again, some artisans have contemplated moving the bait to different locations. Exemplary US patents, the teachings and contents which are incorporated herein by reference, include: U.S. Pat. No. 1,511,123 by Hart, entitled “Weasel trap”; U.S. Pat. No. 1,794,463 by Kelp, entitled “Animal trap”; U.S. Pat. No. 1,798,541 by Kleffman, entitled “Trap”; U.S. Pat. No. 1,987,831 by Kleffman, entitled “Trap”; U.S. Pat. No. 1,992,353 by Cattanach, entitled “Vermin trap”; U.S. Pat. No. 2,209,522 by Houtsinger et al, entitled “Animal trap”; U.S. Pat. No. 2,595,809 by Oxley, entitled “Attachment for animal traps”; U.S. Pat. No. 7,712,246 by Desmither, entitled “Vertical rodent trap”; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,104,222 by Hovey, entitled “Animal trap”.
One additional patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,786 by Frank, entitled “Small animal trap with multifingered bait holder”, illustrates a multifingered trigger that is designed to resist bait removal.
In addition to the foregoing patents, Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, Second Edition copyright 1983, is also incorporated herein by reference in entirety for the definitions of words and terms used herein.